Co-Generation
New Zealand is fortunate compared to most countries, with a very high degree of renewable electricity. The unpredictability of much of that renewable means however that New Zealand will always need some level of thermal capability to provide security of supply to customers.
It is for this reason that while Mighty River Power is committed to developing renewable energy options such as geothermal and wind to complement our large hydro base on the Waikato River, we recognise that a broad range of fuels is necessary to ensure there is enough reliable energy to satisfy New Zealand’s growing energy needs.
Because of its flexibility, natural gas is an important part of this mix. When demand is high during winter, or when there are low inflows, or poor wind conditions, we can increase production at our Co-generation power station at Southdown. When hydro inflows are good or demand is lower, we can simply reduce production at Southdown.